Bengie Molina
Benjamin José "Bengie" Molina (born July 20, 1974, in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) is the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is the older brother to Jose Molina and Yadier Molina. After being initially regarded as a "good glove, no hit" catcher, Molina has developed into one of the better offensive catchers in baseball in addition to retaining his solid defense. However, at 5'11" and weighing 225 pounds, Molina is regarded as one of the slowest baserunners in the game. High school Molina graduated from the Maestro Ladí High School in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. Major league career Molina won a Gold Glove as the top defensive player at his position in consecutive seasons in and . Regarded as an exceptional ball blocker and blessed with a strong arm, he is frequently regarded by both pundits and fans alike as one of the strongest defensive catchers in the game and a very good contact hitter. Molina's ability to make proven contact with the ball is evident in the difficulty opposing pitchers have in striking him out. With just 331 career strikeouts (at the culmination of the regular-season), he posted the highest total of at-bats in between strikeouts in the American league in , going an average 14.3 at-bats in between strikeouts. He first played two games for the Anaheim Angels in , and after a handful of games in , he became the Angels' regular catcher in 2000 and remained so through the season. Over his last few seasons with the Angels, his backup at catcher there was his brother José Molina. Their younger brother Yadier is also a catcher and plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. Molina was the catcher in the play in game 5 of the 2002 World Series when J.T. Snow lifted Darren Baker, the young son of Giants manager Dusty Baker, out of harm's way in front of Molina and ahead of David Bell. Bengie Molina's contract with the Angels expired after the 2005 season, and the team decided not pursue his return because of the salary he would demand. He signed a 1-year $5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, with a mutual option for a second year. While it was expected that he would catch the majority of the Jays' season with Gregg Zaun serving as his backup, Molina's difficulties with right-handed pitchers led to the Jays employing a platoon system. After the 2006 season, Molina became a free agent and signed with San Francisco. After signing with the Blue Jays, Molina expressed his anger at the Angels over how he parted company with them. "The way they let me go without a notice, without calling me, that said a lot," Molina said. "That's what really hurts me. I think I built a good relationship with them," he said. "They never let me know. They just threw me like a piece of trash." Molina's agent, Alan Nero, later confirmed however, that both he and Molina had in fact received calls from the Angels informing them of the team's decisions. Nero suggested that Molina's comments to the contrary were borne from his disappointment and frustration over not being retained by the Angels, as he had hoped to be. Molina hit his 100th home run on September 5, off of Jorge Julio in the sixth inning of a 5-3 win against the Colorado Rockies. Molina was announced as the Willie Mac Award winner for 2007 (for spirit and leadership) in a pregame ceremony on September 21, 2007. He got the most out of 1,617 votes from the fans. Later in that September 21 game, Molina knocked in career RBI number 500 in the bottom of the first on a single that scored Dave Roberts. They eventually lost the game to the Cincinnati Reds 9-8 in 11 innings. In 2007 Molina walked only 2.9% of the time, the lowest percentage in the NL.http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2007 Statistics Regular season Post-season statistics Individual series statistics 2002 post-season totals 2004 post-season totals 2005 post-season totals Cumulative post-season totals Minor league statistics References External links * * Category:1974 births Category:Anaheim Angels players Category:Gold Glove Award winners Category:Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim players Category:Living people Category:Major league catchers Category:Puerto Rican baseball players Category:Toronto Blue Jays players Category:People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:Edmonton Trappers players Category:Players